Idriss Déby Death: Photos And Facts

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Idriss Déby, president of Chad, was killed on April 20, 2021.

Idriss Déby Death

Déby Death Confirmed In Chad. “Chad’s long-serving President Idriss Deby has died from injuries suffered on the frontline, an African diplomatic source told CNN on Tuesday.” [CNN]

Army Spokesman Announced Déby Death on Chad TV. “An army spokesman appeared on state television on Tuesday to inform the nation that the president, Idriss Déby, who had ruled Chad for more than three decades, was dead, according to the news outlets.” [NY Times]

Déby Was Fighting Insurgents When Killed, Reportedly. “Deby, 68, “has just breathed his last defending the sovereign nation on the battlefield” over the weekend, army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa Agouna said in a statement read out on state television.” [Al Jazeera]

Projected To Win Sixth Term In Office. “On Monday, provisional results from the election on 11 April projected he would win a sixth term in office, with 80% of the vote. The government and parliament have been dissolved. A military council will govern for the next 18 months.” [BBC]

Came To Power In Chad In 1990. “Deby, a former army commander-in-chief, first came to power in 1990 when his rebel forces overthrew then-President Hissene Habre, who was later convicted of human rights abuses at an international tribunal in Senegal.” [AP]

Worked With Western Countries Against Terrorists. “Western countries have seen Deby as an ally in the fight against Islamist extremist groups, including Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin and groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel.” [Reuters]

Déby Death Will Cause Sahel Instability. “The death of Déby will underline the growing instability of the Sahel region, where a complex combination of economic, social, political and environmental factors is fuelling a series of crises.” [Guardian]

Déby Was Herder’s Son Before Becoming President. “He was a herder’s son from the Zaghawa ethnic group who took the classic path to power through the army, and relished the military culture. His latest election victory – with almost 80 percent of the vote – had never been in doubt, with a divided opposition, boycott calls, and a campaign in which demonstrations were banned or dispersed.” [France 24]

Idriss Déby Photos